"I Don't Like Big Dogs!!"

It was the summer of 1998 and Sam and I were at the Metroparks Polo Field (we spent a lot of time there that summer).  We exited the car and started walking into the big field.  Sam was, of course, illegally off leash (see previous posts for the disclaimer).  I saw a person running toward us and the girl yelled, "I don't like big dogs!!" at the top of her voice.  Okay, I thought, we should probably go in a different direction.  We turned to move toward a different part of the park, when the girl's parents approached and said, "Oh no, don't go, it's okay."  Hmmmm.... okay, so we stayed and started chatting with her parents. 

I could tell that the girl was young (maybe 10-12 years old) and very likely had Down's syndrome.  She was also with another girl who seemed slightly older, much quieter, and also was probably developmentally delayed.  Let's call the first girl, Mary.  As I began talking to Mary's parents, she occasionally came over and yelled (in a friendly informative way), "I don't like big dogs!!".  Sam and I were not bothered by this and Sam was, as usual, a perfect gentleman and often was off doing his own doggie things, any way. 

At one point I said to Mary's parents, "If Mary doesn't like big dogs, Sam is actually a really good dog for her to meet.  He's very gentle and kind and patient."  Mary's parents liked that idea so they called Mary and her friend over and spoke to them about meeting Sam.  Mary was adamant that she didn't like big dogs and still agreed to hang around for awhile.  I asked Sam to lie down (sometimes when dogs are "smaller" they seem more approachable) and then we all sat down in the grass. 

Sam at some point began wandering around our little circle visiting people.  I'll insert a little known fact about Sam - he is not the greeting type.  Sam is a one woman dog and I had to teach him to "Go say hi" so that he would go to other people and at least appear to be interested in meeting them (he has lightened up as he's gotten older).  So Sam was circulating and when he came to Mary she tentatively petted him a little (having seen other people do so safely :) and then before we knew it Sam was sitting in her lap!  In her lap!  At which point Mary yelled, "Sam, don't poop on me!!"  We all cracked up laughing (including Mary) and Sam didn't even flinch, just kept sitting in her lap being petted.  This whole event was probably a 1/2 hour or so and eventually we all stood up and started saying our goodbyes and thank-yous and nice to meet yous.  As Sam and I were headed off on our way to take a walk through the woods I saw Mary running toward the parking lot where a couple had just gotten out of their car with their big dog.  Mary ran toward them yelling, "I like big dogs!!"

Just another miracle ala Sam...